Eachus Chief David Rabbitts Is Endangering Your Health & Safety
Here's another example of how New York State Democrats are putting the needs of the corporations instead of the needs of the people, and the planet.
For those of you just joining us—and there appear to be many of you—David Rabbitts is Chris Eachus’s Chief of Staff. He is also currently the subject of a New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government investigation, and is pushing dangerous propaganda on behalf of the fossil fuel companies. The latter is the subject of today’s post.
State Senator Acts Like Trump, Hopes Nobody Notices
Multiple parties have confirmed to The Monroe Gazette that Mr. Rabbitts is considering a run for Monroe Town Supervisor. Doing so on a ticket alongside ex-Tony Cardone booster, Paul Phelan, and former Skoufis intern, Brandon Bernard. With the three of them running at the insistence of State Senator James G. Skoufis. Mr. Skoufis did not like the candidates interested in running on the Democratic Party line. He wanted his hand-selected candidates to be endorsed instead. You might be wondering why. Well, it’s easy to sell off parts of Monroe to real estate developers — like the kind we know Skoufis supports — when you control most of the Town Board.
When Mr. Skoufis found out who wanted to run as a Democrat for the Monroe Town Board, he screamed at everyone he could. (Yes. Literally.) This includes members of the Orange County Democratic Committee — including their candidate for County Executive — multiple members of the Monroe Town Democratic Committee, and various inanimate objects. The list of inanimate objects is too long to share, and we promised to shorten up these posts.
Those same parties have also echoed concerns about threats made by Senator James G. Skoufis. As you’ll recall, The Monroe Gazette reported in August that Skoufis threatened to obstruct New York State funding to Woodbury. This was over a pissing match Skoufis got into with the Mayor, Andrew Giacozomma. According to anyone listening to Mr. Rabbitts, Mr. Skoufis has now threatened to cut off funding to the Town of Monroe. Unless, of course, his preferred candidates were endorsed and elected. This is now the second time Mr. Skoufis has threatened to pull a Trump in less than a year. Cutting off funding to municipalities that did not bow to his wishes. The first time, in Woodbury, we can confirm this happened. This second time in Monroe, you’d have to believe Mr. Rabbitts. We don’t. But. Since New York State is facing a shortfall in federal funding — because of Trump’s actions to punish his enemies— these constant threats by Skoufis to cut off funding should concern every resident of Skoufis’s Orange County district. The fact that it conclusively happened once in Woodbury gives credence to the claim that he threatened to do so again in Monroe. And if this is going to be a tactic utilized by the State Senator in the future, that’s a problem for all of us.
For that reason, an ethics complaint was filed with New York State involving Mr. Rabbitts and Mr. Skoufis. If it turns out that the Chief of Staff for a New York Assemblyman conspired with a State Senator to withhold funding to a municipality, because the local Town Democratic Committee did not endorse that Chief of Staff for Town Supervisor, THAT is a scandal. (For the record, the Town of Monroe Democratic Committee did not cooperate with this plan. Instead endorsing Monroe Town Councilwoman Maureen Richardson for Supervisor. However, the Town of Monroe Democratic Committee made it a point to cry and complain about their choice not to follow Skoufis’s plan. If any member of this Committee thinks they’re going to escape the notice of The Monroe Gazette going forward, we have one word of advice for them: Run.
Any Democrat who wants to enable this sort of corrupt behavior needs to be run out of Town. Not just in Monroe, but in every town across America. Otherwise we’ll slip further into a dictatorship, and the only response the Democrats will give you is weak, ineffectual videos like this:
Let’s Chase Out The Corporate Democrats & MAGA Freaks Together
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Let’s Talk Biofuels, David
Before we even knew about David Rabbitts (potentially) running for Monroe Town Supervisor, we contacted Assemblyman Chris Eachus about Assembly bill A472. This is the second time (the first came in a previous session) where Assemblyman Chris Eachus backed a bill that would roll back some of the provisions of the New York State Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act. The Monroe Gazette was first alerted to A472 by climate activist Bill Mckibben’s group, Third Act. In a newsletter about the bill, they told readers:
The perception that biofuels are a panacea to climate change is a fallacy, as they have significant environmental and economic drawbacks. This deceptively named “clean fuel” bill would in fact impede achievement of the mandates in the Climate Law by incentivizing the continued use of carbon-based biofuels in the transportation sector.
We contacted Chris Eachus to find out why he supported this bill. His support was troubling, because Eachus represents Cornwall, which was devastated by the 2023 flooding. The recent Jennings Creek Fire in 2024 also impacted parts of Eachus’s district. (Worth noting: Assemblyman Karl Brabenc, who’s lucky we often forget he exists, is not a co-sponsor of this bill. Neither is Assemblyman Brian Maher. So Chris Eachus is the only area Assemblyman supporting this bill.)
With the planet getting hotter and drier, both fire and flooding will be more common in our area. As we’ve said multiple times in previous posts: The hotter the planet gets, the more dangerous it is for us.
So, why would Chris Eachus back a bill that would make it more dangerous to live in our area? Why not support the New York Health Act instead? That bill would create the framework to establish universal health insurance coverage for all New Yorkers during a time when the Trump administration is actively pushing to cut $880B in funding from Medicaid. (Mr. Eachus is not a co-sponsor of the New York Health Act. Neither is State Senator James G. Skoufis.)
We can’t tell you what Mr. Eachus thinks, because he does not reply to phone calls and emails requesting comment. We can; however, tell you what Mr. David Rabbitts thinks. Because what Mr. Rabbitts thinks sounds a lot like talking points from fossil fuel companies. Here’s what Rabbitts said to us in response to our inquiry, with emphasis added.
The Assemblymember’s position on this bill is that NYS requires ambitious transition for the reduction of emissions to move towards complying with the CLCPA and also in a general sense to combat climate change. While this includes well known avenues such as solar, wind, and other theoretical renewable energy sources, it also includes reducing the carbon emissions in fuels currently widely used by consumers, including in medium and heavy-duty vehicles.
Biofuels are one way we can introduce carbon-reducing fuels today. They are a group ranging in effectiveness, and aren’t all made equal, but can serve to create much less emissions than their petroleum counterparts. While biofuels aren’t as effective as renewable alternatives, they still serve to be much more environmentally friendly than regular petroleum, can be used to reduce petroleum dependency and achieve air quality benefits, and are compatible with existing equipment and infrastructure. California has already taken steps with their own Low Carbon Fuel Standards to track and regulate low-carbon alternatives.
To be clear, his view of this bill is not that it will solve our energy goals entirely on its own. It is instead one of many steps that we need to do to move towards more efficient and less destructive energy sources that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We should be tackling legislation like this in addition to fully supporting emission free sources, not in despite of. This is even before considering the uncertainty that has been introduced with the Trump administration suspending new leases and permits for offshore wind.
We have never spoken with Third Act or Mr. McKibben on this particular bill. If Mr. McKibben’s organization would like to set up a meeting with our office for a more in-depth discussion in the future, they are more than welcome to.
This response, as you might have guessed, reaked of bullshit.
For one thing, Mr. Rabbitts cited no facts, figures, or sources to support his claim. So we started to do some digging, and we weren’t the only ones alarmed by Mr. Rabbitts disregard for the health and safety of Mr. Eachus’s constituents by supporting this bill. Here’s what Michael Richardson, co-facilitator, TH!RD ACT Upstate New York had to say, after reviewing Mr. Rabbitt’s response:
Mr. Rabbitts fails to offer scientific references to any facts or figures to support his opinion. Rather than parroting the talking points from industry lobbyists, perhaps assembly staff should first consult with Robert Howarth of Cornell University. After all it was Assembly Speaker Heastie who appointed Professor Howard, a widely regarded leading expert on biofuels, to be among the twenty-two members of the Climate Action Council that produced the implementation plan for the NYS Climate Law.
Mr. Richardson was kind enough to point us to testimony given by Dr. Howarth concerning biofuels in 2023, which you can read here.
The Monroe Gazette reached out to Dr. Robert Howarth of Cornell University, who pointed out that neither Mr. Rabbitts nor Mr. Eachus ever contacted him about the biofuels bill—not in shaping the talking points Mr. Rabbitts is sharing with constituents, or in informing Mr. Eachus about the faulty science Mr. Rabbitts is spouting in his response to defend the bill.
Remember how I was saying the Corporate Democrats are dangerous. Well, do you believe me now?
And if you might be wondering, “Well. Why would Mr. Eachus or Mr. Rabbitts reach out to Dr. Howarth? As Dr. Howarth told The Monroe Gazette, “Part of my job as a professor at Cornell is to provide information to the public and policy makers, and I try to be available. I feel a particular obligation to provide advice and input to members of the Assembly, since I was appointed to the Climate Action Council by Speaker Heastie.”
Dr. Howarth went on to state:
Thank you for the chance to comment. The short answer is that the comments from the Assembly persons office are at best misleading. (Emphasis added.)
The Climate Action Council spent an incredible amount of time discussing the role, if any, of biofuels in meeting the goals of the CLCPA. As part of this, a small task force composed of 6 or 7 of the Council members met weekly for a period of several months in the summer of 2022. I was a member of this, and I and others argued that biofuels often have a large greenhouse gas footprint, sometimes larger than if we were to simply use fossil fuels. As a result, the "Scoping Plan" that the Council adopted on a 19-3 vote in Dec 2022 specifically downplays the role for biofuels, and instead calls for a rapid move toward beneficial electrification in both transportation (ie, electric vehicles) and heating (ie, heat pumps).
In addition to often having a large greenhouse gas footprint, biofuels require a lot of crops as their starting feed source. NY State does not have sufficient ability to produce these crops, and so any significant use of biofuels in NY would be based on importing crops from other States, which the CLCPA discourages.
By way of my background, in addition to being one of the 22 members of the Climate Action Council, I chaired the International SCOPE Biofuels Project from 2007 to 2012, and have served on advisory boards on biofuels for the UN Environmental Programme. The SCOPE Biofuels project, which was appointed under the auspices of the International Council of Sciences, involved almost 100 scientists and engineers from over 20 different countries to look at the environmental consequences of biofuels, including their greenhouse gas consequences. One of our conclusions was that it would take a massive expansion of agriculture globally if biofuels were to play a significant role in the future energy economy, and that this would result in a great deal of water pollution, as well as elevated greenhouse gas emissions due to clearly of land for the crops, including in the Amazon Forest. For context, note that ethanol production in the US currently consumes 40% of all the corn grown in the US, and yet produces less than 1% of the energy used by American consumers.
So, here you have an expert on biofuels, one appointed by the NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to the Climate Action Council, that neither Mr. Eachus nor Mr. Rabbitts ever consulted with before co-sponsoring a bill. Instead, Mr. Rabbitts appears to be doing what James G. Skoufis does, and is copying and pasting his talking points from the lobbyists. (It should be clear now why Mr. Skoufis was so hot to have Mr. Rabbitts run in the first place. Corporate Democrats want other Corporate Democrats in positions of power to keep the money train rumbling along.)
After speaking to Dr. Howarth and Mr. Richardson, we reached back out to David Rabbitts and Chris Eachus. At this point, neither have replied to our follow-up questions. So we are including them below in the event you’d like to call up Mr. Eachus’s office — don’t email, calls are more effective — and ask why they are supporting this bill. And why Mr. Rabbitts is repeating talking points from lobbyist instead of experts.
The number is: 845-469-6929 (for the district office in Woodbury) and 518-455-5441 (for the office in Albany.)
The following were our questions to Mr. David Rabbitts that went unanswered:
1. Mr. Rabbitts, in preparing this email and in having Mr. Eachus support this legislation (twice now, since Mr. Eachus also supported a previous version of this bill) did either of you consult with Dr. Howarth before supporting this legislation? If not, who did you consult with to reach the conclusions shared in your response?
(Readers of The Monroe Gazette now know the answer is no. Neither Mr. Eachus or Mr. Rabbitts spoke with Dr. Howarth.)
2. Did either of you examine the research shared by Dr. Howarth and the Climate Action Council before signing on (again) to support this bill?
3. What other environmental experts did you speak with in coming to the conclusions shared in your email?
4. What facts can you provide to support the claims made by Mr. Rabbitts in his response?
-Third Act members also raised the following concerns:
Growing ethanol takes up valuable farm land, which is becoming increasingly scarce worldwide.
5. Why does New York State want to prioritize fuel production over food production when we can get our fuel through proven renewable energy options as wind and solar power?
-Mr. Rabbitts suggested that medium/heavy duty vehicles can run on biodiesel instead of regular diesel. Mr. Rabbitts said this was more environmentally friendly than regular petroleum. Did Mr. Rabbitts consider the use of petroleum products as fertilizer to produce the biodiesel fuel source, the farm equipment that would be used to harvest that product, and the shipping of that product?
6. How does the use of biofuels lessen our dependence on petroleum products given the intensity of petroleum use in the manufacturing and distribution of the biofuel?
We've noted in The Monroe Gazette that your colleague, Senator James G. Skoufis, routinely copies and pastes lobbyist talking points, as he did with the real estate industry, concerning his unwillingness to support legislation that would allow for an additional tax on real estate transactions to be used for land preservation.
I know people in the community have great esteem and respect for Mr. Eachus. So, I genuinely hope that's not what was emailed on his behalf.
For that reason, I'm asking the above questions and requesting some clarity as to how the decision was made to support this legislation (twice) given the advice provided to NYS Assembly members by Dr. Howarth.
Listen: It’s war, baby.
There’s a coup going on. Now is not the time to be nice to the local bootlickers in the Republican Party who don’t want to stand up for Monroe-Woodbury school district and Washingtonville school district, who’s funding is under threat by President Elon Musk.
And now is not the time to be friendly to Corporate Democrats who want to offer the least amount of resistance possible when it comes to gutting Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.
Get off the Internet and get in the streets.
And if you’re looking for a place to start, how about the Town of Monroe Democratic Committee? Because it sure sounds like there’s a whole lot of people that need to be thrown out on their ass.
Or you can keep doing what you’re doing. If so, all I’ll ask you is this: How’s nothing working out for you?
